WO2001052724A1

WO2001052724A1 - Device for measuring physical properties of elastic bodies

Info

Publication number: WO2001052724A1
Application number: PCT/JP2001/000304
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ai Oba; Yasutomo Nishimori
Original assignee: Pola Chemical Industries Inc.
Priority date: 2000-01-19
Filing date: 2001-01-18
Publication date: 2001-07-26
Also published as: US6786100B2; ATE324829T1; KR100729161B1; DK1249202T3; AU2001227062A1; EP1249202B1; JP3939984B2; KR20020077886A; DE60119284D1; DE60119284T2; CA2397100A1; EP1249202A1; EP1249202A4; US20030005781A1

Abstract

A device for measuring the physical properties of elastic bodies, characterized by comprising at least two contacts adapted to contact the surface of an elastic body which is a measurement subject, at least one of the contacts being movable, a drive section for moving the movable contact, a control section for controlling the action of the drive section, a detecting section for detecting, as an electric signal, a stress produced by the movement of the contact, and a processing section for processing the electric signal for the stress detected by the detecting section and the amount of movement of the movable contact, wherein the action of the contacts making contact with the surface of the elastic body includes the access action of the two contacts and the action of the two contacts holding and becoming stationary after their access action.

Description

Specification

Measuring device for physical properties of elastic bodies

The present invention relates to an apparatus suitable for measuring physical properties of an elastic body such as physical properties of skin. Background art

Conventionally, as an apparatus for measuring the physical properties of an elastic body such as skin, a so-called cut-measure is used in which an adherent is adhered to the skin, and the degree of deformation of the skin surface due to suction and deaeration is measured. There are known devices such as Yuichi and Twist, which rotate the contact on the skin surface and measure the stress generated from the skin against it. In such an apparatus, there is a problem that a measurement in consideration of the directionality of the skin cannot be performed and a quantitative measurement in a strict sense cannot be performed. Also, the force applied by these devices is not a force that is applied to the skin on a daily basis.

As a device capable of measuring the ability of the skin to extend in any direction, Extensome is known (Acta. Derm. Venereol. (Stockh), 1997, 77: 416-419). However, the physical property value measured by this device is only the extensibility. Disclosure of the invention

The present inventors have found that the skin has a collagen fiber structure in its dermis, and therefore there is a marked difference in physical properties depending on the direction. Therefore, unless the directionality of the measurement is strictly controlled, meaningful physical property values cannot be measured on the skin. Furthermore, Extensome, which measures skin's ability to stretch by pulling the skin, is not the best physical property measurement device for examining the relationship with the formation of skin.

The present invention has been made in such a situation, and enables strict control of the measurement direction and measurement of properties such as physical properties more related to the formation of a seal on the surface of an elastic body such as skin. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body that can be provided.

In view of such a situation, the present inventors have made intensive research efforts and as a result, To analyze the skin deformation due to external force imitating the force that the facial skin receives on a daily basis, i.e., to measure and analyze the stress of the skin when the skin is contracted. It has been found that such measurement is possible by using such a method. That is, the present invention relates to the following technology.

(1) An apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body, comprising at least two contacts that come into contact with the surface of the elastic body to be measured, at least one of the contacts being movable, , A control unit that controls the operation of the power unit, a detection unit that detects a stress generated by the movement of the contact as an electric signal, and an electric signal of the stress detected by the detection unit and a movable contact. A processing unit that processes the momentum of the elastic body, wherein the operation of the contact in contact with the surface of the elastic body includes an approach operation of the two contacts and a holding and stationary operation after the approach operation. An apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body.

(2) The apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to (1), further comprising a display unit for displaying data processed by the processing unit.

(3) The device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to (1) or (2), wherein the elastic body to be measured is skin.

(4) The probe according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the probe is constituted by a contact, a power unit, and a detection unit, and has an arm unit for holding the position of the probe. Measurement device for physical properties of elastic bodies.

(5) The apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to any one of (1) to (4), further including a holding portion for holding the elastic body to be measured.

(6) The device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the contact is fixed on the surface of the elastic body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a protocol according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plot pattern obtained in the second embodiment. The center of the outer forearm (about 10 cm from the wrist) and short axis direction were measured.

Fig. 4 shows the characteristic points and parameters of the plot pattern obtained in Example 2. It is. In the figure, r5, Γ6, Γ7, Γ8, t6 and t8 of the fifth wave correspond to rl, r2, Γ3, Γ4, t2 and t4 of the first wave, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the device of the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the measurement results of silicone rubber (a) and agarose gel (b) in Example 3.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the measurement results of human arm skin in Example 3.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the results of calculating the average values of the parameters Fmax and Fv for each parameter separately for each measurement site and direction.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the measurement results of silicone rubber (a) and agarose gel (b) in Example 4.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the measurement results of human arm skin in Example 4.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the results of calculating the average values of Fl, F2, F3, and T for each parameter separately for each measurement direction. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail focusing on embodiments.

(1) The contact of the device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body of the present invention

An apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to the present invention has at least two contacts, and at least one of the contacts is movable. This is because, by changing the distance between the contacts, the elastic body to which the contacts are fixed is deformed, and the change in stress caused by the deformation shows the characteristics of the physical properties of the elastic body. is there. In this case, two contacts can be used, one fixed and the other movable, or both movable. When both are made mobile, the analysis of stress changes becomes more complicated than the former. An apparatus for measuring and analyzing a stress change with respect to a more complicated deformation pattern with three or more contacts also belongs to the technical scope of the apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body of the present invention. At the time of measurement, both the movable and non-movable contacts are preferably fixed on the elastic body with an adhesive or a viscous substance. When taking into account the evaluation of resistance, etc., it is possible to use a contact part with a large friction coefficient without fixing it. (2) Power unit of the device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body of the present invention

The device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to the present invention has a power unit. The power unit serves as a power source for moving the movable contact. A preferred example of such a power source is a motor. For example, the rotational motion generated by the motor is converted to linear motion by a cam, pulley, etc., and moves the movable contact linearly. The momentum of the movable contact driven by the power unit is monitored by the movement characteristics of the movable unit such as the position coordinates and the number of rotations of the contact.

(3) Control unit of physical property measuring device of the present invention

The kinetic energy generated by the power unit causes the contact to move, for example, linearly, and the movement is controlled by the control unit. This is because if excessive momentum is applied to the contact, the surface of the elastic body may be destroyed, or if the movement is not properly controlled, the reliability of the measured value may be impaired. Such control is preferably performed based on the result of the above-mentioned exercise amount monitor. Such control is managed by a computer or the like, and serves as a means for determining the movement pattern (movement) of the movable contact. As such a computer, a commercially available personal computer can be used.

The motion pattern of the movable contact in the physical property measuring device of the present invention is such that the operation of the contact in contact with the surface of the elastic body includes the approach operation of the two contacts and the holding and stationary operation after the approach operation. Is set to Preferably, a movement pattern that repeats a basic cycle consisting of an approaching operation to shorten the distance between the contacts, a holding and stationary operation to maintain the distance between the contacts, and a return operation to restore the distance between the contacts is obtained in the last cycle. Analyze based on the measured values. The initial value of the distance between the contacts, the shortened value, and the shortening speed are appropriately selected depending on the type of the elastic body. In the case of skin, the initial value is usually 3 to 10 bandages, and the shortened value is 0.5 to 5 Singing and shortening speeds are selected from the range of 0.5-2 mm / sec. The number of cycles is usually one to five.

Thereby, it is possible to investigate physical properties that are considered to have a stronger effect on the formation of an elastic body such as skin.

(4) Detecting unit of measuring device for physical properties of elastic body of the present invention

The detection unit of the measuring device for physical properties of the elastic body of the present invention is generated by the movement of the movable contact. To detect the stress from the elastic body. The stress detected in this manner is transmitted as an electric signal to a processing unit described later. The stress generated by the movement of the movable contact indicates the physical characteristics of the surface of the elastic body, and is detected as a numerical value reflecting various physical properties of the elasticity by the movement pattern of the movable contact. Is done.

(5) Probe

It is preferable from the viewpoint of use that the above-mentioned contact, power unit and detection unit constitute a probe as one unit. Such a probe preferably has a structure in which the position is fixed during measurement. As such a position fixing means, it is preferable that the position fixing means is attached to the end of a so-called arm which has a metal skeleton and a panel portion and is capable of position fixing and positioning. By adopting such a structure, the position and direction of the contact can be freely changed, and the physical properties of the surface of the elastic body can be measured in any direction. The deformability of such an arm must be lower than the mobility of the contact. Further, it is preferable to provide a guard ring surrounding the contact. By providing a guard ring, the influence of parts outside the measurement range can be minimized. The guard ring is, for example, a square cylinder or a double cylinder.The inner cylinder can slide inside the outer cylinder, and the inner cylinder protrudes from the outer cylinder by a spring. Some are energized. Silicone may be coated as a non-slip on portions that come into contact with the elastic body.

(6) The processing section of the device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body of the present invention

The processing unit of the measuring device for physical properties of the elastic body of the present invention is a unit for processing the momentum of the movable contact and the stress generated by the movement of the movable contact, and uses a normal personal computer. A special program may be created for the processing, but for example, using spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel, the momentum (or the position coordinates of the movable contact) is plotted on the X axis. The stress can be plotted on the Y axis. When such a plot is made on a graph, a characteristic pattern for each elastic body can be obtained.

The obtained pattern may be analyzed as a whole, or a part of the pattern may be analyzed as a single parameter. For example, approaching motion to reduce the distance between contacts (step 1), holding and stationary motion to maintain interrogation distance between contacts (step 2), and return to restore the interrogation distance In the pattern obtained in the basic cycle consisting of the operation (step 3), the maximum stress during contraction in step 1 (Fmax in Fig. 6 or Fl in Fig. 9) and the maximum stress attenuating during maintenance in step 2 Value (Fv in Fig. 6 or F2 in Fig. 9), the maximum value of the stress that decreases when the contraction is released in step 3 (F3 in Fig. 9), and the stress decay is F2 / e (e = 2 718) (T in Fig. 9).

It is preferable that the device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body of the present invention further includes a display unit for displaying the data processed by the processing unit. The display unit is, for example, a display.

According to the physical property measuring device of the present invention, it is possible to measure physical properties in a form in which physical properties due to the surface itself of the elastic body and physical properties due to the internal structure of the elastic body are combined. Examples of the characteristics reflected in such physical properties include the loss of elasticity due to aging, the change due to photoaging, and the characteristics related to shear formation.

A specific example of the device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The contact is composed of an arm 2 with a non-slip silicone member 1 at the tip. A strain gauge 3 is attached to the probe side of the arm 2 as a detection unit. One side of the arm 2 is made movable by a stepper motor, which is a power unit. The electric signal from the strain gauge 3 is amplified by a strain amplifier 6 and input to a computer 8 as a processing unit through a stress signal adjuster 7. Further, the stepper mode controller 4 is controlled by a controller controller 5 which is a control unit based on a control signal from the computer controller 8. From the control signal to the motor controller 5, the momentum of the contact is calculated by the computer 18. Then, the data processed by the computer 8 is displayed on the display 9. At the time of measurement, the silicone member 1 at the tip of the contact is brought into contact with the skin, and the distance between the arms 2 is reduced or restored by the stepper module 4 controlled by the module controller 5. To shrink the skin and restore it to its original state. At this time, the momentum of the arm 2 and the force applied to the arm 2 from the skin are input to the computer 8, and the physical properties are measured. Example

The device for measuring the physical properties of an elastic body shown in Fig. 1 has one movable contact and one fixed contact, and a motor (power unit) that drives the movable contact and a contact It is equipped with a probe that has a control unit that controls forward / backward / stop and a detection unit that detects the stress applied to the contact.Furthermore, a motion control signal is transmitted to the control unit according to a program, and this control signal is transmitted to the position coordinates (X coordinate), and has a personal computer as a processing unit that takes in the detected stress as Y coordinate. The motion pattern of the movable contact is initially set at a position where the two contacts are 4 mm apart, and the movable contact approaches the non-movable contact by 1 mm in 1 second. After that, hold this position for 5 seconds and return to the original position of 4 mm in 1 second. It is programmed to repeat this work five times.

According to the protocol shown in Fig. 2, using the apparatus of Example 1, 17 panelists of 7 people in their 20s, 5 people in their 30s, and 5 people in their 50s The probe position and stress pattern were measured at the central part of the upper arm and the middle part of the upper arm (physiological aging site). FIG. 3 shows an example of a graph pattern in such a measurement. The parameters shown in FIG. 4 were calculated from the coordinates of each part of the pattern. The relationship between these parameters and the measurement site and age was examined, and the results were as shown in Table 1. These results show that the use of the apparatus of the present invention enables noninvasive measurement of skin aging, which could not be measured conventionally.

table 1

The measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The contact is composed of an arm 2 with a non-slip silicone member 1 attached to the tip. A strain gauge 3 is attached to the probe side of the arm 2 as a detection unit. One of the arms 2 is made movable by a power unit, Stepbarmo Ichiba 1-4. The electric signal from the strain gauge 3 is amplified by the strain amplifier 6 and input to the computer 8 as a processing unit through the stress signal adjuster 7. The stepper motor 4 is controlled by a motor controller 5 as a control unit based on a control signal from a computer 8. The momentum of the contact is calculated by the computer 8 from the control signal to the motor controller 5. Then, the data processed by the computer 18 is displayed on the display 9. A guard ring (metal, 33 square per side, 10 mm wide) is provided around the contact to minimize the effects of parts outside the measurement range.

The movement pattern of the movable contact is as follows.

step 1: Reduce the distance between arms from 4 mm to 3 mm (1 band / s).

step 2: Maintain a distance of 3 mm between arms for 4 seconds.

step 3: Return the distance between arms to 4 mm (1 mm / sec).

Cycle repetition: 5 times (analysis of the last cycle for the final cycle) Using the apparatus described above, silicone rubber was measured as a highly elastic sample, and agarose gel was measured as a viscoelastic sample. Fig. 6 shows an example of the measurement results. As an analysis of the parameters, the maximum stress during skin contraction (Fmax (V) in Fig. 6) and the attenuation of the stress seen in step 2 (Fv (V) in Fig. 6) were analyzed. Since the Fv seen was hardly seen with silicone rubber, Fv is considered to be a parameter related to viscoelasticity. Fmax was found to increase depending on the hardness of the silicone rubber or the concentration of the agarose gel, and is considered to be a parameter relating to the hardness.

Next, 17 healthy male and female (20-61 years old) male and female subjects were examined using the above-mentioned device. The measurement was performed in two directions. Fig. 7 shows an example of the measurement results. It can be seen that an agarose gel type pattern having viscoelasticity is exhibited.

FIG. 8 shows the results of calculating the average values of Fmax and Fv for each measurement site and direction. There were no significant differences between the Fmax and Fv values in the two directions inside the upper arm, but the values outside the forearm were significantly higher in the long axis direction than in the short axis direction for both parameters. . Table 2 shows the correlation between each parameter and age. In both sites, Fmax was found inside the upper arm and Fv was found outside the forearm, but not in the short axis, but in the long axis. Table 2

Individual: Positive correlation,: Negative correlation

*: 0.01 <p≤0.05,-: 0.05 ρ (paired t-test) Based on the above results, the physical properties of the outer skin of the forearm, which is the exposed part, were determined by the measurement using the measurement device of the present invention. The difference between the long axis direction and the short axis direction It was also found that changes in the physical properties of the skin along with the aging were observed in the longitudinal direction on both the forearm and the outer side. In other words, the possibility of using the measuring device of the present invention to analyze the relationship between physical property changes due to photoaging and shige formation was shown.

Change the contact pattern to the following, the guard ring is a double cylinder, the inner cylinder can slide inside the outer cylinder, and the inner cylinder protrudes more than the outer cylinder due to the panel The same device as in Example 3 was used, except that it was changed to the one that was energized as described above.

Movement of the movable contact

step 1: The distance between arms is reduced from 4 mm to 3.5 mm (0.5 band / s).

step 2: Keep the distance between arms at 3.5mm for 4 seconds.

step 3: Return the distance between arms to 4 mm (0.5 mm / sec).

Cycle repetition: 5 times (pattern analysis for the last cycle) Using the above apparatus, silicone rubber was measured as a highly elastic sample, and agarose gel was measured as a sample having viscoelasticity. Fig. 9 shows an example of the measurement results. As a whole, the maximum stress during skin contraction (F1 (V) in Fig. 9), the maximum value of stress that decreases during maintenance (F2 (V) in Fig. 9), the maximum stress during contraction release Analysis using the value (F3 (V) in Fig. 9) and the time until the stress decay during maintenance becomes F2 / e (e = 2.718) (T (sec) in Fig. 9) show that the agarose gel shows Since F2 observed was hardly observed in silicone rubber, F2 and T calculated based on the F2 are considered to be parameters related to viscosity. Also, F1 and F3 were found to increase depending on the hardness of the silicone rubber or the concentration of the agarose gel, and are considered to be parameters related to the hardness.

Next, using the above device, 80 healthy Japanese males (21-59 years old, average 45.3 years old) were used as subjects, and a line connecting the outer and inner corners of the eye was targeted at the outer corners of the face. In contrast, measurements were taken in two directions, horizontal and vertical. An example of the measurement results is shown in FIG. It can be seen that the agarose gel type pattern having viscoelasticity is exhibited.

Figure 11 shows the result of calculating the average value of Fl, F2, F3 and T for each measurement direction. Hard The values of the parameters related to the F1 and F3 were significantly lower in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction. In other words, it was found that there was a significant difference in the physical properties related to hardness in the two directions in the facial skin.

In order to examine the relationship between the measured value at this time and the degree of shear of the subject, light was applied to the silicone replica of the target site collected at the time of measurement from an obliquely upward direction at an angle of 20 degrees, and the resulting shadow The percentage occupying the area to be evaluated (1 cm x lcm) is calculated by image analysis as the ratio of the screen area, and this ratio is used as an index for evaluating the degree of screen, and is obtained by measurement using the measuring apparatus of the present invention. The correlation with each parameter obtained was examined. Table 3 shows the results. As a result, only the vertical T was correlated. This suggests that the viscoelasticity in the vertical direction may be involved in the formation of the shies at the facial eye corners. Table 3

**: 0≤p≤0.0K-: 0.05 <ρ (test for uncorrelation of single correlation coefficient) Based on the above results, the measurement using the measuring device of the present invention shows that the measurement is related to the hardness of the skin on the facial and outer corners. It was shown that F1 and F3 were significantly lower in the direction perpendicular to the skin surface than in the direction parallel to the line connecting the inner and outer corners of the eyes, and the physical properties of the outer corners of the eyes were all directions. It was suggested that this was not the case.

In addition, as a result of examining the relationship between the value measured by the measuring device of the present invention and the degree of stiffness of the outer and inner corners of the face, a parameter relating to the viscoelasticity in the direction perpendicular to the line connecting the inner and outer corners of the eye on the skin surface was examined. At the end of the evening, there was a correlation with the degree of the outer corner of the eyes. It was suggested that it might have affected the skin formation on the skin. Industrial applicability

The apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to the present invention has the following effects.

(1) By having a movable contact, measurement can be performed on the surface of the elastic body while strictly controlling the measurement position and the directionality of the measurement. This is because, for example, skin has a structure in which the fiber bundle structure of collagen, which is the root of elasticity, is arranged in one direction under the skin. It is particularly suitable because it can be measured every time. That is, it is possible to non-invasively measure the disorder of the collagen fiber bundle, which can be measured only invasively until now. In addition to this feature, by making the movement pattern of the movable contact include the approaching movement between the contacts and the subsequent holding and stationary movement, characteristic values suitable for examining the relationship with the shear formation etc. Can be measured.

(2) According to the physical property measuring device of the present invention, it is possible to measure physical properties in a form in which physical properties due to the surface itself and physical properties due to the internal structure are combined. Furthermore, in the pattern analysis of the numerical change, it can be obtained not as a one-dimensional numerical value as in the case of Cuteme, but as a multi-dimensional data which can decompose species factors.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body, which has at least two contacts that come into contact with the surface of the elastic body to be measured, at least one of the contacts is movable, and the movable contact is moved. A power unit, a control unit that controls the operation of the power unit, a detection unit that detects a stress generated by the movement of the contact as an electric signal, and an electric signal of the stress detected by the detection unit and the movable contact. And a processing unit for processing the momentum, wherein the operation of the contact in contact with the surface of the elastic body includes an approach operation of the two contacts and a holding stationary operation after the approach operation. Measurement device for physical properties of elastic bodies.

2. The apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying data processed by the processing unit.

3. The apparatus for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body to be measured is skin.

4. The physical property of the elastic body according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a probe is configured by a contact, a power unit, and a detection unit, and has an arm unit that holds the probe position. measuring device.

5. Mainly having a holding portion for holding an elastic body to be measured,

B 冃 The measuring device for physical properties of an elastic body according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The device for measuring physical properties of an elastic body according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the contact is fixed on a surface of the elastic body.